1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to display meters in general, and more particularly, to light-emitting diode meters. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus for implementing a light-emitting diode meter.
2. Description of Related Art
Magnetic type meters are commonly used for indicating magnitudes of specific measurements such as speed, power, intensity, etc. A magnetic type meter typically includes a dial, a pointer and a drive unit for presenting a specific magnitude by rotating the pointer to an appropriate dial position. Because the moving parts of magnetic type meters are more prone to mechanical problems, some magnetic type meters have been replaced by light-emitting diode (LED) meters that have fewer moving parts.
LED meters can be designed to display magnitudes of measurements in an analog or digital manner. For a digital presentation of magnitudes, an LED meter is designed to display magnitudes in corresponding digital numerals. On the other hand, an analog presentation of magnitudes can be provided by utilizing an array of LEDs to mimic or emulate the display characteristics of magnetic type meters.
Although LED meters using digital presentations are more precise in their display of magnitudes, LED meters using analog presentations tend to be more aesthetically appealing to the analog human psyche. As such, most people prefer LED meters with analog presentations over LED meters with digital presentations. However, LED meters with analog presentations utilize more LEDs and often require more complicated control circuits and higher power consumption.
Consequently, it would be desirable to provide an improved method for implementing an LED meter with analog presentations in a cost effective and energy efficient manner.